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Articles by Mickey Goodman

A Partnership Cast In Bronze

by
Mickey Goodman

An excerpt from the article:
These Atlanta artists share the secrets of sculpting a beautiful
life.
In a sunlit north Atlanta studio, a life-size young boy captured in
clay strides toward the doorway, his hair tousled and socks askew.
Nearby, two more immortalized children smile from a makeshift wall,
while miniature ballerinas in various stages of completion stand watch.
Each piece of art is the result of a creative collaboration between
sculptors Teena Stern and Don Haugen, whose works and lives are as
intertwined as the English ivy trailing through their lush garden.

"When you look at most figurative sculptures, you see no life;
in Don's and Teena's you see life," says Mary Portera, director
of the River Gallery in Chattanooga. She first met Teena and Don
in 1993 when they were artists-in-residence at the Association of
Visual Artists. Mary was so impressed with the sculptors' talent
that she asked them to use her husband, Charles, as a model. "They
are tremendous artists and people," she says.

Art is generally a solitary endeavor, and Teen and Don readily
admit that the road to artistic collaboration is not always easy.
He prefers realism; Teena, impressionism. He likes classical music
while he works; she fancies New Age. "Early in the process
we got at it toe to toe, especially about the gesture, that elusive
element that brings the figure to life," says Teena. "I
usually win because I'm a dirty fighter, but Don's the best portrait
artist around......."[ SOUTHERN
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